MoAD Complimentary Admission for The Kinsey Collection

Complimentary Admission-Opening Reception: The Kinsey Collection at MoAD [Museum of African Diaspora] San Francisco, Ca

Friday Feb 8, 2013

Cedric Brown Can Put It Down!!!

One of the first events I was asked to be a part of when I moved to the Bay Area was in conjunction with the National Queer Arts Festival it was called, “Is Gay Male Culture Dead?” I was quite nervous because other than a few open-mics this was to be my debut in my new hometown area. Cedric Brown was one of the featured guests for this event. We had communicated on-line as part of B/Glam which he'd co-founded with Marvin K. White but this would be our first time meeting in person.

That night after seeing him perform I began to refer to him as Cedric “Put It Down” Brown. The evening was also significant because not only would it be a beginning for me and commencement of a new friendship with Cedric, it would be the last time I performed with my former duo partner Regi Perry who passed away about a year later.

From the start Cedric has been a beautifully encouraging brother with an easy smile, witty conversation, someone who can make you laugh in an instant, and a love of the arts that I truly admire. Over time we'd run into each other at different events Alvin Ailey Dance Company, Rachelle Farrell, and keep in touch electronically as well. I've always felt any time our paths cross I'm guaranteed to have a great experience.

Earlier this year he published his book, “Eyes of Water & Stone” and I was recently able to get my hands on a copy. Even though I know him personally and through his work I am still amazed at the depth of his talent. This book weaves a wonderful story that is based on true events, but also plunges you into the best place that reading should. A place where you are transported by the author into feeling what the characters feel and longing to know what happens next. Fueled by love, hope, history, culture, desire, doubt, and many other themes “Eyes of Water & Stone” is an easy read but by no means is it simple.

Cedric Brown has indeed once again PUT IT DOWN!! and you owe it to yourself to purchase this book. I promise you, you won't be disappointed.....

It is available at www.blurb.com and you can find his on-line archives at http://oaktownbrown.wordpress.com/

CEDRIC BROWN makes social commentary through artistic expression as a writer, visual art producer, director, and aficionado of the African Diaspora. He is also a funder, activist, spouse, and uncle. Cedric is originally from North Carolina and lives in Oakland, California.

Support Mother Of Peace Orphange-Mutoko, Zimbabwe

Mother of Peace Community (MOPC) Zimbabwe is an orphanage providing 120 – 150 children aged between 0 and 18 years with a place they can call home. It was founded in 1994 in response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Zimbabwe which has left many children orphaned.

MOP Children need your support. For just $1 a day you can sponsor an orphan. 126 children at MOP of all ages need food, shelter and clothing. Will you help make a difference and share $1 a day?

You can get a copy of my book, “Touch...Poems & Others Writing of Love, Erotica, & Sensuality" for 30% off beginning Friday November 23, 2012-Tuesday November 27, 2012. The book must be purchased at www.lulu.com and using the discount code: DELIRITAS. (Must Be In All Caps) at check out.

The sale is site wide so you can also purchase the anthology, “Mighty Real: An Anthology of African American Same Gender Loving Writing” that includes my essay, “Let The Healing Begin”

Also a reminder that Chanel Timmons and I will have a table at the East Bay Alternative Book & Zine Fest:

Saturday December 8, 2012
Berkeley City College
2050 Center Street
10:00am-5:00pm
Free (Donations Accepted To Benefit Rock Paper Scissors Collective)

LOOK FOR US LISTED IN THE EVENT GUIDE AS, “KARESS PRESS”
1/2 Block From The Downtown Berkeley BART Station, Accessible By AC Transit Lines F, 1, 12, 18, 49 (A&B Loop),51B, 88

Go to https://www.truthmagonline.com/about-truth/truth-store/product/view/2/3.html
to purchase Issue 3 of “Truth Magazine” which includes my article, “Yvette Flunder & Shirley Miller: Full & Complete”

Consider subscribing as they are having a 40% Off Sale!!!

East Bay Alternative Book And Zine Fest.....

Join Chanel Timmons & Myself As We'll Be Selling Books At
East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest


East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest
December 8, 2012
2050 Center St
Berkeley City College
10 am – 5 pm

LOOK FOR US LISTED IN THE EVENT GUIDE AS, "KARESS PRESS"

(1/2 Block From The Downtown Berkeley BART Station, Accessible By AC Transit Lines F, 1, 12, 18, 49 (A&B Loop),51B, 88

Chanel Will Have Copies Of Her Chapbooks, "L" & "Hush"

I'll Have Copies Of My Book, "Touch...Poems & Other Writings of Love, Erotica, & Sensuality"

Also Be Sure To Pick Up Issue 3 (Election Issue November/December) Of Truth Magazine & Read My Article: Yvette Flunder & Shirley Miller; Full & Complete

http://www.truthmagonline.com

Truth Magazine Article About Bishop Yvette Flunder & Shirley Miller....

I have an article in the current issue of, "Truth" magazine about our beloved Bishop Yvette Flunder & the dynamic Shirley Miller. Please go to & like their Truth Magazine facebook page. Go to their website http://www.truthmagonline.com/about-truth.html to find out more about the magazine and how to order your copy. Consider subscribing, they are having a 40% off special on the subscription rate......


They are also looking for Design Interns and would love if any of them are on the West Coast so please submit if interested...

http://www.truthmagonline.com/about-truth/designintern.html

Follow me on Twitter: @litmasturbator

My thoughts are with those on the east coast.....

And Everyone Don't Forget To Vote!!!!!

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS DEADLINE EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 7, 2012: Brista to Brista: Letters of Affirmation by Black Gay Men

Call for Submissions—Brista to Brista: Letters of Affirmation by Black Gay Men

Edited and with an Introduction by Darius Omar Williams (Dandaluka Vanga)

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO OCTOBER 7, 2012
Call for Submissions:

21 years after the groundbreaking anthology Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, edited by Essex Hemphill and originally conceived by Joseph Beam, in a bold literary-critical-political response, Dr. Darius Omar Williams (Dandaluka Vanga) seeks submissions for a new anthology in celebration of the kinships shared, abandoned and lost among black gay men: the cultural, sexual and gendered framing of both brother and sister fused together as “Brista”, a popular form of sentiment and endearment coined in contemporary same gender loving tradition. The anthology will specifically include provocative personal letters of affirmation written by and to black gay men to encourage, uplift and empower one another through their individual and collective quest for companionship and political autonomy while also highlighting the intersected identities of lovers, brothers, sisters and friends in this codified world of sexual essentialism.

Also, to bridge the gap between our heterosexual and same gender loving brothers, a section entitled "Honorary Bristas" will be included in the anthology to provide a healing space for black men who identify as "heterosexual" or "straight" to speak power, truth and light to their same gender loving brethen in the form of a personal letter (personal letters written to co-workers, friends and biological or non-biological kin)

Topics might include:

-Personal letters to historical black gay icons including but not limited to James Baldwin, Bayard Rustin, Joseph Beam, Essex Hemphill and E. Lynn Harris

-Personal letters of affirmation from black gay men to their bristas both past and present: biological and non-biological brothers, “sisters”, colleagues and friends (ie. words of healing, loving, forgiveness and ‘water under the bridge’)

-Personal letters examining, investigating and contemplating the severing/loss of bristahood

-Personal autobiographical letters (from the author to himself) as a self-portrait of redemption, power and self-love

-Personal letters from and to black gay men whose relationships have evolved from bristas to lovers and the liminal spaces in between (a measuring of the stakes involved insofar as the degrees of bristahood are concerned)

-Personal letters to loved ones living or who have transitioned because of HIV/AIDS

-Essays in the form of personal letters on the rising of Brista(s) as a term of endearment and its linkage to the nature and politics of race, sexuality, spirituality and gender

Also, to bridge the gap between our heterosexual and same gender loving brothers, a section entitled "Honorary Bristas" will be included in the anthology to provide a healing space for black men who identify as "heterosexual" or "straight" to speak power, truth and light to their same gender loving brethen in the form of a personal letter (personal letters written to co-workers, friends and biological or non-biological kin)
Submission Guidelines:

Cover Letter

Brief Biography

MSWord electronic submissions 12” Times New Roman Font (11 pages maximum) to: brista2brista@gmail.com (all documents should be saved and submitted as your last name_Brista to Brista) Your submissions may include a single or series of letters to one or more different bristas, again, totaling no more than 11 pages. Also please include the date and time in which your personal letters were written. Title Example : My Dungeon Shook: Letter to My Nephew on the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation by James Baldwin from The Fire Next Time (1962)



Warmest Regards,

Dr. Darius Omar Williams, editor
Brista to Brista: Letters of Affirmation by Black Gay Men

Deadline: October 7, 2012

Contact, inquiry and submission information:
brista2brista@gmail.com